A liquid crystal display element has been widely used as a component of an information display section of a gaming device such as a pachinko device.
In recent years, there has been a demand for a gaming device which can display in the information display section not only information to be displayed by the liquid crystal display element but also, for example, an accessory provided behind the liquid crystal display element. The following description refers to FIG. 16, which is a view schematically illustrating an arrangement of a gaming device, and to (a) through (c) of FIG. 17, each of which is a view illustrating a display in an information display section of the gaming device.
As illustrated in FIG. 16, the gaming device 90 includes on a front surface a circular game board 92 which shows a stage of a game. The gaming device 90 further includes at a substantially central portion of the game board 92 an information display section 94 which includes a liquid crystal display element as a primary component.
The information display section 94 displays various types of information in accordance with a stage of the game. In a case where, for example, the gaming device 90 is a device, such as a slot machine, which shows a three-digit number that changes in accordance with the stage of the game, the liquid crystal display element displays a number such as “567” in the information display section 94 as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 17.
In a case where, for example, the three-digit number has become equal to a three-digit number, such as “777”, in which respective digits are identical to a predetermined single number (see (b) of FIG. 17), a region displaying the number “7” located in the middle of the three-digit number becomes transparent. As illustrated in (c) of FIG. 17, this results in the information display section 94 displaying (i) the numbers “7” and “7” displayed by the liquid crystal display element and (ii) an accessory 52 (doll) provided behind the liquid crystal display element.
Various techniques for carrying out such a display have been proposed. Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a technique in which polymer-dispersed liquid crystal is used as an LCD shutter. This technique is described below with reference to FIGS. 18 through 21. FIG. 18 is an elevational view illustrating an arrangement of a game machine of Patent Literature 1 in its entirety. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the game machine 101 of Patent Literature 1 includes at a central portion of its game board 106 a center case 111, in which an image display device 108 for displaying an image is provided.
Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 19, which is an exploded perspective view illustrating an arrangement of the center case 111, the center case 111 mainly includes: an armor section 409; the above image display device 108; and an accessory 506 provided behind the image display device 108.
As illustrated in FIG. 20, which is a view illustrating an arrangement of the image display device 108, the image display device 108 includes, for example, the following members arranged in an order presented below: a liquid crystal panel 501; diffusing plates 502; a light guide plate 503; a reflecting plate 504; and an LCD shutter 505. The image display device 108 further includes: an LCD light source 513, which is used for an image display and which is provided in a vicinity of an end of the light guide plate 503; and a light source 514, which is used for an accessory and which is provided in a vicinity of an end of the LCD shutter 505.
According to the game machine 101 of Patent Literature 1, the LCD shutter 505 included in the image display device 108 is made of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal. The polymer-dispersed liquid crystal enables a switch between (i) a state in which the accessory 506 is visible and (ii) a state in which the accessory 506 is invisible. The following description refers to (a) and (b) of FIG. 21, each of which is an explanatory view illustrating an operating principle of the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal included in the LCD shutter 505. (a) of FIG. 21 shows how liquid crystal molecules are oriented when a voltage is applied, and (b) of FIG. 21 shows how the liquid crystal molecules are aligned when no voltage is applied.
As illustrated in (a) and (b) of FIG. 21, light is transmitted through a layer of the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal differently depending on whether a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer. Specifically, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 21, when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer, light is transmitted through the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (LCD shutter 505: ON). Thus, a game player can see the accessory 506 provided behind the image display device 108.
In contrast, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 21, when no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer, light is scattered by the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal, so that the liquid crystal layer becomes whitish (LCD shutter 505: OFF). Consequently, the game player cannot see the accessory 506 provided behind the image display device 108.
As described above, according to the game machine 101 of Patent Literature 1, the use of the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal enables control over whether the accessory 506 provided behind the image display device 108 is visible or invisible (unshielded or shielded).
In addition, Patent Literature 2 discloses an arrangement including a reel 604 on which designs are formed (see FIG. 22). The arrangement includes a panel display section 606 constituted by a transparent acrylic plate. The arrangement further includes the following components which are stacked on top of one another and which face an inner surface of the panel display section 606: picture sheets 600, each of which is a transparent film material on which various pictures are printed; a performance display section 601 constituted by a liquid crystal display device including a transparent electrode made of, e.g., ITO; and an electronic shutter section 602 also including, e.g., a liquid crystal film. The arrangement also includes cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) 603 which are provided at respective upper and lower display regions on an inner surface side of the panel display section and which carry out respective functions as a backlight device for a liquid crystal display and as an illumination device for illuminating the designs on the reel 604.
The panel display section 606, the picture sheets 600, the performance display section 601, and the electronic shutter section 602 constitute a region for displaying a performance.
The following description deals with respective operations of the individual constituents. The pictures on the picture sheets 600 are constantly visible to a game player, irrespective of how a performance of a pachinko-slot machine is controlled.
The region for displaying a performance is a region for displaying an image performance such as a jackpot performance and various announcement performances.
The electronic shutter section 602 switches a state of a predetermined region between a light-transmitting state and a light-blocking state in response to an applied voltage. In other words, the electronic shutter section 602 switches the state of the predetermined region between (i) a state in which the designs on the reel 604 are visible through the panel display section 606 and (ii) a state in which the designs on the reel 604 are invisible through the panel display section 606. The performance displayed in the region for displaying a performance can thus be switched between (i) a normal display performance (i.e., a state in which only a performance display is visible because the reel 604 is shielded by the electronic shutter section) and (ii) a semitransparent display performance (i.e., a state in which the designs on the reel located behind the electronic shutter section 602 are visible through a performance display).